Physicians are progressively just prescribers. The drug companies removed any autonomy within the profession with detailing and keynote/thought leaders, and once that had sufficiently eroded their value to patients, then drug companies found direct marketing to patients and heavy funding of patient advocacy organizations rendered physician alliances largely irrelevant in any case.

I think this ends up (perhaps inadvertently) being a very accurate concept (male and female) as to who's for hire and for what purposes that might be. Just as politicians no longer resign in the face of unprofessional, illegal and/or immoral actions and the public is already sufficiently disenchanted and uninvolved enough not to care either way, so too goes the medical profession.

Highly unprofessional. Appropriate for college level females (maybe), but women your patients (and colleagues) would not be impressed. Dare you to put this on your residency application, charity or not. Go volunteer in food bank.

Give me a break. They look like nothing worse than cabaret dances from the Moulin Rouge in Paris. Can't these students take a break from their hard work? Looks tasteful to me, doctors are people too. Here's a couple of students relaxing at their graduation dinner, looking forward to their residency.

It would normally be inappropriate to attend a clinic (or ward round, GP surgery...) dressed in a burlesque outfit, or to do a strip tease there, of course. But how or why would it be inappropriate to do a cabaret show?

I am aware that a physiotherapist was disciplined or struck off by her professional body for a charity event which involved skiing down a ski slope topless; but that was an appallingly bad decision by her professional body.

I am a very professional CBT therapist and a trained burlesque dancer and am proud. It makes me more human which makes me a better therapist. How can we expect patients to talk to us about physical or psychological sexual problems if we are so busy trying to desexualise ourselves?

What about this - http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2487633/Naked-NHS-calender-Male-staff-strip-bid-raise-awareness-testicular-cancer.html - is that unprofessional? (Apologies for linking to the Daily Fail!).

I think not in both cases.

What happens outside of work, within the confines of the law, is not the concern of the profession or its regulator.

IMO if it's not against the school's "Professionalism Policy" it's not unprofessional ... or the school needs better policy!Our Policy at uOttawa:"I will present and conduct myself in a dignified, respectful and professional manner while functioning in an official capacity "" I will promote the dignity of the medical profession in all settings." http://www.med.uottawa.ca/students/md/professionalism/assets/documents/Declaration.pdf

This is tricky, isn't it? How do we assess what does not promote the dignity or demotes the dignity of the medical profession? Wouldn't it be easier for patients and public to understand that as a profession we believed in promoting the dignity of patients in all settings? Maybe the dignity of the medical profession might even be in conflict with the dignity of patients in some scenarios?

Would medical students in Toronto produce a calendar like this or would it be seen as not promoting the dignity of the medical profession?

But this is different culture. Who are we to comment on appropriateness (had it been a UK medical review flyer than maybe different, but even then I think it is fine). If someone from outside of UK had commented on a picture of me as a girl (in the fine english tradition of pant dame's!) I would have been pretty annoyed...

Definitely not unprofessional. They aren't even doctors yet, and even if they were it wouldn't be unprofessional. If the images are anything like the one above it doesn't look lewd or provocative in any way (unless we were living in the 18th Century!) If I were a patient I would just think it was good they are raising money by doing something fun!

I'm so glad most of the comments on the blog are more balanced than the ones on twitter. I am very concerned about the current SLUT shaming that is happening in North America and I see this as part of that trend to shame women. Where were the voices last year when men posed in their underwear? I recently attended a burlesque show here in Canada put on by a feminist professor and it was a celebration of the beauty of women all shapes, all ages. No one was raped and no one was humiliated for being skinny, fat or old. It completely opened my eyes to the cost of a repressed society. Women are humiliated on a daily basis for breastfeeding or for wanting to go topless at the beach even if they are 4 years old. No one will remember the calendar participation 5 years from now, unless you continue to make a big deal of it.

My French is not good enough to read the artlcle without google translate but seemingly there was concern with the male medical students too http://www.journaldequebec.com/2013/11/05/calendrier-sexy-linitiative-detudiantes-en-medecine-fait-jaser

There was also some comment on Twitter about an MTV series called 'Scrubbed In' about nurses. I was surprised to see the suggestion from an Ontario nursing body that the nurses particpating were of 'dubious moral character' http://www.ona.org/news_details/cancel_scrubbing_in_20131018.html It doesn't seem very 21st century language.

Most people commenting here think there is nothing wrong with the calendar. But it has been reported in the Quebec press that not everyone is happy. Lisa is in the US not Quebec, and I don't think she is commenting on cultural aspects of the debate but will leave that to her to explain. And Damian you look very un-odd really:)

This is a clearer a 'grey' area but was just really picking up on JJ Marks change of heart on realising it was a French Facebook page. May have been tongue-in-cheek but I think there is a lot in the culture or context. But if the french canadians are upset about it then my point really probably isn't valid!

Interesting: would there be the same furore if they were dressed as ballet dancers? I doubt it. So maybe that says more about prejudices and misunderstandings about different art forms than it does about "professionalism"